Skip to main content

Tempting Christ: Luke 4

The fourth chapter of the book of Luke describes the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Since we are all Christ, we all endure this in various ways: 

1 Then Jesus, remembering that He was Christ and fully Divine, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into a place of lack and hunger 2 so he could be tempted for this time. He had nothing that could fulfill his need, and afterward his need was great.

3 And the tempter said to Him, "You can't really be Christ if you feel so low and down and needy. If you were really Christ, you could provide everything for yourself easily!"

4 But Jesus answered him saying, "It is not what I do that makes Me Christ, but who I AM."

5 Then the tempter, seeing the great need and lack that Christ was walking in, took Him up to a high mountain and showed Him the answer and fulfillment to every one of his needs. 6 Then the tempter said to him, "I will give you everything you need. I will love and support you. I will build you up. You will not hunger anymore. You will not hurt anymore. But there is an ultimatum: you have to not be Christ anymore. I will be your authority, your Christ. 7 You must submit to me, and it will all be yours."

8 And Jesus answered and said to him, "No freaking way! I am Christ and I cannot be other! It is written, 'You will not demean yourself and submit your own sovereignty to another!"

9 Then the tempter brought Him to Jerusalem, brought Him to the highest heights of religious worship and said to Him, "If you are Christ the Lord, submit to the established religious theology by proving to the people who worship under this religion that you are Christ, 10 you must fulfill what is written in their religious text: 'He shall meet your needs and not allow harm to come to you' 11 and 'even your basest needs shall be met and you shall not be hurt.'"

12 And Jesus answered and said to Him, "It has been said, 'You shall not confine the Christ expression of who you are to a religious theology or understanding!'"

13 Now when the tempter had ended all this temptation, he departed from Him until the next time He had a need.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Meaning of Life

You know, people have been seeking and selling the meaning of life for probably as long as humanity has existed. Why are we here? What is our purpose? People have written countless books--many of which you can find in the self-help section of your local bookstore--about why humans are here and how to discover your unique purpose and meaning. Men and women often search for meaning in many places, usually in their jobs, their children, or their relationship with others. We are here to help others. We are here to give sacrificially. We are here to make the world a better place. We are here to leave a legacy. We are here to accomplish something... I have heard answers that range from "Life is a test for what you can handle in Heaven" to "We are here to fulfill a unique purpose designed for us by Yahweh and to bring Him glory in a way that only we can." The first one is, respectfully, preposterous, and the second one falls short of the greater Truth. Ultimately, no...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pie

Imagine that all the love, affection, and resources (time, finances, emotional space, etc.) that each of us has is a pie. This pie may be larger or smaller depending on capacity and circumstances in a person’s life. Now, in order to be healthy and satisfied, each person must constantly be consuming an entire pie. But, after eating a single slice of our own pie, the rest of our pie cannot satisfy us or give us any nutritional value. What are we to do? We must give ourselves the first slice of our pie. This is self-love or self-care. That first slice imbues all of the other slices of our pie with nutritional value. But, after we have consumed the first slice of our own pie, the rest of our pie will give us nothing if we eat it ourselves. We must give the other slices of our pie to other people. Still, we must consume a whole pie to be satisfied, so others must give to us as well. In a healthy, functioning society and group, it would look like this: each of us eats our own first slice...
Post a Comment
Read more

Multiversal Choices

Your best friend in the whole world, a guy you've grown up with and known since kindergarten, has decided to take up smoking (or drinking, drugs, unprotected promiscuity... insert reckless lifestyle here). You first notice him lighting up at a party, and you're shocked to realize that he has made such a choice. You know he's heard all the stories about how bad smoking is for you because you sat next to him at all the tobacco free assemblies at school, and you helped him to his seat after he looked a little green when watching the teacher in health class do the "how smoking affects the lungs" presentation using real pig lungs and cigarettes. Yet, here he is, a person you love and care about and want to see prosper, making an obviously unhealthy choice. What do you do now? This conundrum is faced on a daily basis by people who see others follow paths that lead to destruction. The question is answered in many ways. (This is not an exhaustive list.) Option 1: ...
Post a Comment
Read more